Thursday, September 14, 2017

Say "Cheese!"

Ruth, Bex, Ido, and Spencer~

A few times a year we throw open the barn doors and invite everyone in for a day of making and sharing. This time we wanted to welcome our cousin Landon into the mix... he's got designs and plans for making a folding knife, and Alex is mentoring him on this project. Seems we couldn't stop at knife making, so we invited other makers over, and Lisa arrived with a taco salad banquet, then we found ourselves getting a cheese making lesson. It's our love of making, of STEAM education activities and advocacy, that gets these things rolling, but it's our fun and generous friends that turn an idea into an unforgettable event.

Leo, Amira, Maria, and Adrian for a round of DnD~

Magic the Gathering at the next table over, with Lucas, Alex J, Max, and Corey... always room for one more!

Say 'hello' to Ido's little friend. Junkcade and BOoM Nerds are at it again... with a little Arduino magic, Tony Manero is going to light up the disco floor.

Here is Landon, our newest BOoM Nerd. I couldn't keep up with all of the tinkering, experimenting, sandblasting, plasma-cutting fun Landon and Alex were having.

Two certified welders, and one eager apprentice. Our group works on the idea that anyone can become proficient at a task, and then pass those skills along. So, no matter your age, in any project or activity, you are either a mentor or a student. Peer teaching, engagement, sharing... by encouraging everyone to participate as students, and as teachers, we increase our resources, build confidence, and accomplish more making. Collaboration, and cooperation, make for fantastic skill building experiences.

Lucas and Max bring Paul M, visiting from Wisconsin, to the table for an MTG introduction.

And Leslie brings Bex, Adrian, Amira, Maria, and Leo to the kitchen for a mozzarella making introduction. All (clean) hands on the curd!

Landon, mixing in the salt, before we add the boiling water.

Leslie was our expert on this project, and we all marveled at how magical it was seeing the cheese suddenly happen. Making mozzarella was easy, fun, delicious. I wouldn't have guessed we could do it so quickly, simply, and I am glad Leslie shared the curd, and her skills. This needs to be a regular activity.

And what do you do with all that cheese? You top your pizza! For this we had Lisa and Leslie to make dough, and Tim to build a beautiful pizza. This was just about the time Michael came by to check on Leo, and he had a fresh harvest of tomatoes from Grace's garden... just happened. What a fortuitous arrival.

And on the porch... electronics, soldering, Arduino, and Tony Manero.

And also... Tim, William, Alex, and Bex... with paper mâché for a cosplay mask.

Like I said, Always room for one more.

Amira, Leslie, Lisa, and Tim... pizza's out of the oven! This was round 2 for good eating. Lisa fed us all lunch, too. Cooking is some of the best making there is!

Everyone was on hand to appreciate this make project!

Want to see Tony Manero do his Saturday Night Fever disco? Check out BOoMNerds on Instagram!